Crust-Forming Cooking Methods Bad For Heart

This article reports the findings of a research team about the dangers of using improper cooking methods involving high, intense, dry heat.

Be careful the next time you order that hamburger and fries cooked on an open grill or over flames. Not only do you have to be especially cautious of hydrogenated and trans fats infused during cooking, but the crust formed on these foods, and many others, from grilling, charbroiling or frying boosts pre-formed anti-glycation end products (AGEs) that are shown to dramatically raise the risk of heart disease, especially in diabetics.

A research study team from the University of Illinois, has found that avoiding cooking methods that produce the kind of crusts that you would find on a grilled hamburger or fried foods places you at significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease. They determined this is critically important for those individuals diagnosed with diabetes.

Lead study author, Dr. Karen Chapman-Novakofski noted “We see evidence that cooking methods that create a crust, think the edge of a brownie or the crispy borders of meats prepared at very high temperatures, produce advanced glycation end products (AGEs). And AGEs are associated with plaque formation, the kind we see in cardiovascular disease.” Individuals with cardiovascular disease or diabetes are commonly told to bake, broil, or grill their food instead of frying it.

This may be unhealthy advice, as these approved cooking methods form a crust on the outer surface of foods that significantly increase the AGE-load when eaten. Food preparation methods that utilize high, intense, dry heat end up causing cellular dysfunction as proteins are rendered useless when bound to glucose or fat molecules in the body. Diabetes dramatically increases cardiovascular disease risk and the introduction of AGEs into the diet from foods improperly cooked raises this risk even further.

The scientists examined food intake for a period of 10 days in a group of 65 Mexican and non-Hispanic whites. They found that non-Hispanic whites had a very high intake of AGEs, and consumed excess saturated fats. In this group, eating foods prepared to promote the formation of pre-formed AGEs provided a strong association for the development of heart disease, more so than consuming excess saturated fats.

The study authors concluded “We found that people with higher rates of cardiovascular complications ate more of these glycated products. For each unit increase in AGEs intake, a study participant was 3.7 times more likely to have moderate to high risk for cardiovascular disease.” The researchers determined that AGEs were formed at a much higher rate in ground meats such as hamburger, as opposed to steak or chicken. Choose organic cuts of meat and prepare by boiling or stewing to significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

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